


Audience with a Queen

by LinSpinner



Category: Original Work
Genre: British Monarchy, Execution, Queens, tutors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 06:32:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8002081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinSpinner/pseuds/LinSpinner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An incident causes a hallucination of meeting Anne Boleyn in her final hours.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Audience with a Queen

Something strange happened during the course of the previous night. There had been a storm; rain pounded down and the ship lurched back and forth. On my way back to my cabin, the ship gave an extremely strong lurch, and I crashed into the wall and fell down. I must have blacked out for a moment, but I did manage to get up and stumble the rest of the way to my cabin and get into bed.

However, when I awoke, our magnificent cruise ship had been replaced by- I didn't know what, exactly. This strange ship was made of rough wood. Everything was tight and cramped. There were sails made of coarse canvas so worn that patches had been patched. Someone said that this boat was similar to ones used in the 16th century.

Everyone else was as perplexed as me. The crew did not know what to do. Their modern computer navigation systems were replaced by paper maps and antique navigational tools. Surprisingly and fortunately, one person knew how they worked. The biggest surprise of all: We had been carried far across the Atlantic Ocean and were drifting closer and closer to England.

For lack of a better idea, the captain decided to head for land. We sailed through the English Channel, following the coast to land closer to London. As soon as we were close enough to see distinct features, we knew something was wrong. There were no cars or modern buildings; nothing looked familiar. It wasn't only our ship that went back in time.

We were told to stay on the ship. Who knew what could happen if we went wandering around? I was apprehensive. What if we were stuck here forever? But then I thought that if this was the 16th century, this could be the experience of a lifetime! Despite my hesitation and better judgment, as soon as no one was watching, I snuck off the ship and along a dock. There was a man nearby calling, "Barge to London. Everyone for London." I ran over and discreetly climbed aboard and shortly after the barge set off down a river, which I assumed was the Thames. Other docks came into sight and the man began calling out names. "Tower," he called out.

Tower? What Tower? Then it hit me: Tower of London. The barge landed and all the passengers disembarked. I followed. There must be something here to draw a barge full of people, most of whom I noticed were families carrying baskets.

I stopped one woman and asked what was going on. Between the bustle of the crowd and her accent, I didn't entirely understand her. The next thing I knew, I was looking at a guillotine, set up on a high platform in the middle of an open area. People were sitting down and pulling food out of the baskets. A picnic at an execution? This was morbid. I stayed toward the outskirts of the crowd, next to a wall of the Tower. I was thankful I hadn't gotten too many strange looks so far, but now people were really starting to stare at me. I spied a door that was open a crack, ducked inside, and quickly pulled it shut.

Inside, the Tower was dimly lit and quiet compared to the chaos outside. A shadow moved across a hall at the top of some stairs. I wasn't alone; someone else was here. I climbed the stairs. At the top was a room lit by candles. A bell hung from the rafters. Curtains were drawn over the windows that otherwise would have looked out on the scene below. Sitting at a table was a woman with her back to me. She had the longest, darkest hair I had ever seen. As I walked around to the other side, I saw how graceful and elegant she was, even though she was visibly aged and in the dark and gloom.

When I came into her line of sight, she turned toward me. "It is indeed a tragic sight. Too grotesque for you as well? But alas, it is not that way for my ladies. They went to see the spectacle after bringing me from the rooms where I've been imprisoned to the bell tower to watch in private. Evidently they are not worried I will leave, and they would be correct. If this is what my king desires, I will not defy him." she said, ignoring how odd I looked. Looking into my eyes, she proudly stated, "I am Anne Boleyn, the queen of England. But there are those who prefer to call me Nan Bullen." She laughed in a crazed sort of way. "Are you one of them?"

I had found Anne Boleyn? I stood there, dumbfounded. I knew she was one of Henry VIII's wives, but I couldn't remember which one. I didn't know who the 'them' she referred to was, so instead of replying I asked, "Why 'Nan Bullen'?"

When she stopped laughing in that creepy way, she replied, "'Nan Bullen', the name used by those who believe me to be no more than a commoner. I know what my people think of me, the names they have for me. Witch. Concubine. Whore, goggle-eyed whore. But I am the rightful queen of England. Not Katherine. Her marriage never existed."

Before this went any father, I wanted to know when in history I was. "Could you tell me what today is?"

She raised her eyebrows, confused that I didn't know, but she replied, "The 17th of May in the year 1536."

"Umm…" I wasn't sure what to say. "If you are the queen, why are you imprisoned?"

The tone of her voice suddenly changed, "I am wrongly accused, but if this is the fate that awaits me, I will accept it." Then her eyes filled with tears. "My king so wanted a son, and I could have given him one, but his patience didn't last. He accused me of being unfaithful, of treason. The wretched souls who will presently fall into the sleep of death are wrongly accused."

Here she paused, and almost as if someone had planned it, the crowd outside grew oddly silent. I glanced at the curtained window. There came a dull thudding sound, and the roar from the crowd came back, louder than before.

She looked down at the table and said so quietly I could barely hear her, "Mark Smeaton, a musician and nothing more than a friend. George, my sweet, sweet brother, George. Francis Weston and Henry Norris, knights and close friends of my king. And William Brereton, a mere commoner."

I had thought Anne was a demanding, selfish woman, but here she was different. It was like she had given up and accepted her fate. She didn't care who I was, only that I was someone to talk to.

She stared off into space. The only sound was the chattering from outside. Then she spoke, still looking at nothing. "He wanted a son, but all he had was that ungrateful, illegitimate girl Mary. And his wife, if she can be called by such a sacred title, was the opposite of myself. She was aging and would never provide the king with the son he desired. She was much too pious and devout for the king's liking. I had the gracefulness, wit and sophistication she lacked. I brought him to life again…."

Her rambling trailed off into nothingness before she began again with fervor, "He wanted a mistress. He took my sister Mary for a short while, but then grew tired of her. He suddenly left her alone. I did not wish the same thing to happen to me. I could not be only his mistress. I had to have more, have security in my position. The only way that could happen was to hold out and wait for my chance. He wanted me. He wrote me letters, passionate letters. He asked constantly when I would share his bed. But I didn't return his passion. I didn't give in." She paused and when she continued, her rate of speaking slowed and her voice danced along, "I kept him enchanted just enough to maintain his interest."

Outside, I could hear the silence, thudding, and the roar once again.

"How long did it last?"

"I kept his interest for seven years before we finally were wed." Then she gripped the edge of the table until her hands turned white before hissing through her teeth. "It would have taken place sooner if not for Katherine. She meddled in everything, finding excused to postpone anything within her power. But the people adored her. She was well connected in Spain and Rome. The pope couldn't declare her marriage invalid for fear of causing war. And Cardinal Wolsey, he certainly took his time at everything. I never could trust him. I never knew with whom his loyalties laid, but I am sure they were not with me." Then she relaxed, "But at last, all the obstacles were removed and we wed. Shortly before, I had let him into my bed, and within months, I told him we were going to have a son. We had the motto 'The Most Happy' put on our crest, which I believed to be true."

"Soon thereafter, we planned my coronation. Katherine was made to hand over her jewels, which were never rightly hers. I finally achieved what I planned to obtain. It was the happiest moment of my life.

"It is a bit strange, isn't it?" Her tone suddenly changed again, as if she suddenly remembered where we were, "During my coronation, I stayed here at the Tower. Just three years ago, and now see how I've changed…." She gazed off into a corner, returning to her memories.

She had been calling the king "him", so I continued with it. In a louder than normal voice to cover the next round of thuds and cheers, I asked, "What was it like, being married to him?"

She spoke as though in a dream, "He flattered me, and gave me all the attention I could want. After all, he would finally have a son, and most important, an heir. But when the child was born…she was a beautiful girl, but not the son he wanted. I told him we could try again. I was young, not like the aged Katherine. And soon I told him once again we would have a son, but it wasn't to be; I lost the child. By this time, I could see his interest in me was fading. His attraction had turned toward a young woman, Jane Seymour. I do not know what he saw in her; she was not beautiful, but I could see he was going to discard me as he did Katherine and my sister."

A third thud echoed before being drowned out by the crowd.

She raised her voice and for the first time since I entered looked directly at me, "He concocted an elaborate plot, claiming I had been unfaithful to him, that I had invited other men into my bed." She drifted back into the dreamy voice, "Why would I do such a thing as that? He is my lord and my king."

"Were you given a trial or any kind of defense?" I was getting wrapped up in her story.

"They didn't help…" She trailed off and I didn't ask who 'they' were. "I defended myself; no one would dare defy the king. I had done nothing against the law. Some still say I am not the true queen. Did it not occur to them if I am not the queen, what they say I did would not be treason? He tried to convince me to admit our marriage had never been true, but I know it is. It might have saved my life, but it would be a lie.

"I once said I should die content if I should die a queen. It is not death that troubles me now. 'Bring on my quiet rest.' It only troubles me that 'defiled is my name'. I have been wrongly judged, with 'cruel spite and false report'. My only sorrow is in how I will be remembered. Soon, though, I shall be with those who died for me, and 'I shall lead an endless life with them in peace.'"

Almost as soon as she stopped speaking, the fourth thud was heard followed by the loudest cheers of the day.

"My fate will soon be upon me." She laughed a little before saying, "It is a good thing I have such a small neck. It will make the work easier. And they will soon have a new name for me, 'Queen Anne Lackhead.'"

What does one say after that? She just spilled out all the tumult of her life to a stranger.

I guess her wit told her what to say, "My ladies will be returning. Leave. There need not be any more deaths because of me." For the first time, she stood up and then walked over to the window. She stared at the curtain covering it with no intention of acknowledging me again.

I snuck out the same way I got in and headed back to the barges. I found one sailing back in the direction of the ship. At the dock, I disembarked and snuck back onto the ship. I was exhausted so I decided to try to sleep.

I didn't know how long I was out, but when I woke up the ship was back to its 21st century self and I had a massive headache.

Everything I had experienced seemed too real to be a dream. The woman I had met was immensely disliked, but it didn't change the fact that she was also brave and intelligent.

My talk with Anne had intrigued me. What had happened to this woman? When I got home from the cruise, I did some research.

I discovered Anne had spent the next day mostly by herself in prayer.

The following day she was beheaded.


End file.
